Does black coffee help or hurt your weight loss?

aaronmefford
aaronmefford Posts: 20 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
I feel like it keeps me from being hungry in the morning but when the bottom falls out in the afternoon I'm starving. Wondering if coffee is the culprit...
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Replies

  • kclaar11
    kclaar11 Posts: 162 Member
    Agreed. Coffee is just water passed through ground coffee beans; it has no impact on your weight loss.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited April 2017
    Caffeine is an appetite suppressant. Black coffee is about 5 calories for 2 cups. If you like it, drink it. It's not going to sustain you all day, though. Your body need calories to function.

    I personally drink coffee as my first "meal" of the day. I am up around 5:00, coffee at 7:00, "breakfast" around 9:30, lunch about 1:00, snack at 3:00, dinner about 7:30, dessert before bed.
  • Golbat
    Golbat Posts: 276 Member
    Coffee shouldn't hurt. If anything, it seems like the caffeine might help? I thought I'd read that caffeine can help with hunger but I'm not sure. I imagine if it does it probably doesn't do much. Anyway, if you're hungry, either you're not eating enough, or you're not eating enough of certain things. Like, if I eat more protein- and fiber-rich foods, I am less hungry. If more of my calories go to other things, I'm more hungry.
  • Mycophilia
    Mycophilia Posts: 1,225 Member
    https://examine.com/supplements/caffeine/ is probably the best place to look up information.

    Here's some relevant paragraphs from the site:
    30 minutes after an oral dose of 4mg/kg caffeine (in obese women), a metabolic spike was seen in all subjects but to a widely varied degree; this spike is able to reduce body weight when in conjunction with a low-calorie regimen in all subjects though.[224] This dose, 4mg/kg bodyweight, is approximately equal to 3 cups of regular coffee (average caffeine content) for persons with a BMI in the normal range.[225]

    Despite the high variance seen, average increases seem to be around 34kJ/m2/hour, which translates to 8.1 calories per hour for every meter of body surface area a person has.[225] The standard 'average' for adult humans of normal weight is 1.73m2, which translates into 14kcal per hour. Some studies note higher values (32.4kcal/h) with higher dosages of caffeine (400mg).[226]
    Caffeine has been implicated in suppressing food intake in rats[233] although studies in humans are less promising. One study noted no significant suppression of appetite or food intake in men with 3mg/kg bodyweight caffeine[234] whereas another did note suppression of food intake in men, but not women, with 300mg caffeine.[235]
  • aaronmefford
    aaronmefford Posts: 20 Member
    Interesting thanks, I guess I was thing in terms of it effects on insulin production. If it could make you produce more and as a result feel more hunger later in the day.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Interesting thanks, I guess I was thing in terms of it effects on insulin production. If it could make you produce more and as a result feel more hunger later in the day.

    Nah...it's basically water.
  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
    Interesting thanks, I guess I was thing in terms of it effects on insulin production. If it could make you produce more and as a result feel more hunger later in the day.

    Only if you load it with sugar.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,701 Member
    It certainly hasn't hurt my weight loss.


    That said, if I drink too much coffee ... like when I get into my 6th cup ... I can start feeling kind of jittery like I feel when I'm really hungry. I could mistake that jittery feeling for hunger. So I try to cap my coffee consumption at 5 cups.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,342 Member
    coffee doesn't have any impact on insulin production, unless you add sugar.
  • nevadavis1
    nevadavis1 Posts: 331 Member
    It can make your stomach upset though, if you have too much.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Calorie deficit controls weight loss.

    For me; black coffee provides caffeine and drinking it takes my mind off food so in that sense it does help me with losing weight through dietary adherence.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    nevadavis1 wrote: »
    It can make your stomach upset though, if you have too much.

    I'm still searching for that amount.
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
    Are you only have coffee for breakfast? If so, that's why you are hungry in the afternoon! I have it every morning with breakfast and am losing at a steady rate.
  • gamerbabe14
    gamerbabe14 Posts: 876 Member
    I only have coffee for breakfast. Two cups with a total of 4 tbsps of Half&Half and I won't eat/not hungry until 12pm.
  • brennawaterhouse19
    brennawaterhouse19 Posts: 4 Member
    Black coffee is great for you! Same with green tea. They both have antioxidants, lowers risk of type 2 diabetes, and reduces the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. The problem becomes when you drink too much of it or put lots of sugar and cream in it! One cup of black coffee a day has great benefits!
  • brennawaterhouse19
    brennawaterhouse19 Posts: 4 Member
    Relser wrote: »
    Are you only have coffee for breakfast? If so, that's why you are hungry in the afternoon! I have it every morning with breakfast and am losing at a steady rate.

    I'm learning in my nutrition class that breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day and dinner should be the smallest! To help with this, eat lots of protien for breakfast. Keeps you full longer!

  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    Coffee (sometimes I have it black, sometimes with 1TB of half and half) absolutely helps my weight loss, because it keeps me from feeling too stabby around people. Coffee is a coping mechanism. Otherwise, it's digestive properties have little impact on the actual process of weight loss, other than I count the calories...
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    Relser wrote: »
    Are you only have coffee for breakfast? If so, that's why you are hungry in the afternoon! I have it every morning with breakfast and am losing at a steady rate.

    I'm learning in my nutrition class that breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day and dinner should be the smallest! To help with this, eat lots of protien for breakfast. Keeps you full longer!

    How a person feels full is very individual. Some people need breakfast and some people skip all food until late in the day when all calories are consumed within a small window of eating (Intermittent Fasting).

    When you eat has exactly zero percent to do with nutrition and everything to do with an individuals perception on how food makes them feel.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 994 Member
    You're hungry in the afternoon because you haven't eaten very much. You can eat breakfast or stick to black coffee, but you need to eat enough overall one way or another. Personally, I have breakfast and coffee in the morning, lunch, and then coffee in the afternoon to get me through to an early dinner. I do find that cup around 3 kills my hunger for an hour or two. To feel full, you need to make sure you're getting some carbs, fat, and protein in your meals, too, not just one macro. Some people play around between them to see what makes them feel the fullest/best.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    Helps if you drink it black, which I do. (See below).

    I started drinking coffee again in the morning to suppress my appetite, which allows me to skip breakfast w/o feeling hungry and allowing me to "load up" on lunch/dinner which I'd rather do.

    MFP just posted a blog article making this point:

    "Your daily cup of joe may do more than just help you roll out of bed each morning. It stimulates the brain and nervous system, and contains antioxidants that may help improve glucose metabolism — which not only helps suppress the appetite, but also lowers the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Caffeinated coffee may also stimulate thermogenesis, and the body’s ability to burn more fat stores, improving performance in endurance exercises like running and biking.

    While the effects of coffee on weight loss are likely minimal, the overall health benefits are reason enough to enjoy a cup or two each morning as part of your daily routine. A 2014 systematic review and meta-analysis of 36 studies found those who drank their morning cups of coffee were actually at the lowest risk for heart problems.

    A cup of advice: Not all coffee is created equal — most of the benefits associated with coffee are singular to black coffee — not the cream and sugar-filled coffee beverages from drive-thrus and coffee boutiques. Limit the flavored (and over-priced) lattes to a rare treat."

    See: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/8-foods-surprisingly-good-weight-loss/
  • aubyshortcake
    aubyshortcake Posts: 796 Member
    The only way black coffee directly affects my weight is it makes me have to go to the bathroom.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    Helps if you drink it black, which I do. (See below).

    I started drinking coffee again in the morning to suppress my appetite, which allows me to skip breakfast w/o feeling hungry and allowing me to "load up" on lunch/dinner which I'd rather do.

    MFP just posted a blog article making this point:

    "Your daily cup of joe may do more than just help you roll out of bed each morning. It stimulates the brain and nervous system, and contains antioxidants that may help improve glucose metabolism — which not only helps suppress the appetite, but also lowers the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Caffeinated coffee may also stimulate thermogenesis, and the body’s ability to burn more fat stores, improving performance in endurance exercises like running and biking.

    While the effects of coffee on weight loss are likely minimal, the overall health benefits are reason enough to enjoy a cup or two each morning as part of your daily routine. A 2014 systematic review and meta-analysis of 36 studies found those who drank their morning cups of coffee were actually at the lowest risk for heart problems.

    A cup of advice: Not all coffee is created equal — most of the benefits associated with coffee are singular to black coffee — not the cream and sugar-filled coffee beverages from drive-thrus and coffee boutiques. Limit the flavored (and over-priced) lattes to a rare treat."

    See: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/8-foods-surprisingly-good-weight-loss/

    Drinking coffee with cream and sugar added wouldn't cancel out the coffee part though. It would just be adding cream and sugar, right?
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    Drinking coffee with cream and sugar added wouldn't cancel out the coffee part though. It would just be adding cream and sugar, right?

    Yes but, if weight loss is your goal, cream & sugar add cals that have to be offset or accounted for w/in your cal allowance. If you can do that w/o going over, fine. If not, you might want to try just drinking your coffee black.

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    Drinking coffee with cream and sugar added wouldn't cancel out the coffee part though. It would just be adding cream and sugar, right?

    Yes but, if weight loss is your goal, cream & sugar add cals that have to be offset or accounted for w/in your cal allowance. If you can do that w/o going over, fine. If not, you might want to try just drinking your coffee black.

    I get the calories should be accounted for, but the text said that "most of the benefits associated with coffee are singular to black coffee." But most of those benefits (like being a stimulant, containing antioxidants, etc) wouldn't be cancelled by the presence of cream or sugar. You would simply have a higher calorie drink that also had the benefits of black coffee.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    Drinking coffee with cream and sugar added wouldn't cancel out the coffee part though. It would just be adding cream and sugar, right?

    Yes but, if weight loss is your goal, cream & sugar add cals that have to be offset or accounted for w/in your cal allowance. If you can do that w/o going over, fine. If not, you might want to try just drinking your coffee black.

    I get the calories should be accounted for, but the text said that "most of the benefits associated with coffee are singular to black coffee." But most of those benefits (like being a stimulant, containing antioxidants, etc) wouldn't be cancelled by the presence of cream or sugar. You would simply have a higher calorie drink that also had the benefits of black coffee.

    IME useless blog is useless.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    Black coffee is great for you! Same with green tea. They both have antioxidants, lowers risk of type 2 diabetes, and reduces the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. The problem becomes when you drink too much of it or put lots of sugar and cream in it! One cup of black coffee a day has great benefits!
    Relser wrote: »
    Are you only have coffee for breakfast? If so, that's why you are hungry in the afternoon! I have it every morning with breakfast and am losing at a steady rate.

    I'm learning in my nutrition class that breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day and dinner should be the smallest! To help with this, eat lots of protien for breakfast. Keeps you full longer!

    i would get your money back. that sounds like they are teaching you a lot of woo.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    I can't drink it in the afternoon, or my sleep suffers. But 3-4 in the morning works for me. Black as well (unless it's the weekend and I have Baileys hanging around, but then I have to count the calories).

  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited April 2017
    I gained 15 lbs on highly creamed coffee, then switched to straight black - gained another 10.

    Then I learned how to drip feed it into my veins so I had a constant supply from first wake till I removed it at 5pm.

    ps. have you thought about eating a better lunch, or planning an afternoon snack that satiates?
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